Chapter 3667: Encountering the Lotus
Zhang Ruochen knew that once he left White Clothes Valley, his chances of reaching the Heavenly Court alive were extremely slim.
Nutian Shenzun had to suppress the ancient powerhouses from various eras who sought the Divine Corpse's body, and also had to guard against Lei Fa Heavenly Venerable. He simply could not leave White Clothes Valley. Everything depended on Zhang Ruochen alone.
Even facing such a life-and-death challenge, he remained unwavering and set out on the journey back to the Heavenly Court.
Before departing, he made thorough preparations, setting up a star-domain-level Space Teleportation Array to cross millions of billions of miles of starry sky directly from White Clothes Valley into an unfamiliar region. Immediately after, he fled into the Void World, concealing his aura and heavenly secrets.
Zhang Ruochen traveled swiftly through the Void World, many thoughts running through his mind.
Their target was definitely not just him.
Since they had cut off Chi Kunlun's head, they would never keep it on themselves, giving Zhang Ruochen a chance to find them. So, where had the head gone?
The answer was already clear.
To them, Zhang Ruochen was a threat.
But were Jie Zunzhe and Tai Shang not even greater threats?
After traveling for a long time in the Void World, crossing an unknown distance without any great terror appearing, Zhang Ruochen couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope. Perhaps the Space Teleportation Array had shaken off the hidden powerful enemies, and the Void World had concealed all his aura.
But that glimmer of hope was soon extinguished.
In the Void World, there was no matter, sound, airflow, or rules, yet Zhang Ruochen saw a purple light ray in the distance.
That purple flame seemed to connect the entire universe, spanning from north to south, blocking Zhang Ruochen's path.
He could not avoid it, nor go around it.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes were resolute, his hand wearing the Kirin Fist Gloves clenched into a fist. In the palm of his other hand, silver-white Buddha light radiated.
He did not slow down, charging straight ahead.
No matter how great the challenge, no matter how strong the enemy, he had to fight through.
"Rustle."
As he drew closer, Zhang Ruochen heard the sound of flowing water.
What spanned from north to south was not a light ray, but a vast river. The water was purple, like divine liquid, emitting thick layers of mist.
The mist around the riverbed was tens of thousands of miles thick.
It was impossible to see where it came from or where it flowed to.
Such a majestic and spectacular divine river was in no way inferior to the Heavenly River or the Santu River. The most bizarre thing was that it existed in the Void World without being nullified.
Soon, Zhang Ruochen stood by the purple divine river.
It was too wide; the opposite bank was invisible, like looking at the sea.
The current was gentle, giving a sense of tranquility and eternity.
Although Zhang Ruochen was inwardly shaken, he was not too surprised. Because in many great worlds, there were legends about a divine river existing in the Void World.
Legend had it that the "Luo Shu" was obtained by the ancestor of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization when he encountered a mysterious ancient river in the Void World and received it from the back of a divine turtle.
There were also legends that ten thousand years ago, Fengdu Dadi and Void Heaven did not appear in the divine war of the Heavenly Court Universe because they were fighting unknown enemies in the Void World.
The legendary divine river appeared before him, and Zhang Ruochen dared not relax at all, because this could not be a coincidence.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God stepped out of the Sundial, looking excitedly at the shimmering river surface, and said, "The legendary divine river! Zhang Ruochen, your luck is truly something else, to actually encounter this."
"Is this luck? I think not."
Zhang Ruochen pointed a finger.
A sword qi flew from his fingertip, piercing the riverbed, cutting through the flowing water, and rushing a thousand miles away.
This sword strike had the power to split heaven and earth, as if it could sever the legendary divine river.
"Hua!"
Above the divine river, a bright light appeared, and particles of time imprint light gathered like fireflies.
It was as if time and space had been opened. A long river of time appeared above Zhang Ruochen and Xiu Chen Heavenly God, flowing parallel to the purple divine river below.
In the long river of time, a snow-white lotus the size of a planet bloomed, with seventy-two petals. Its light was holy, exuding Buddha essence, its aura like a Buddha who had walked through the mortal world for countless ages, long and vast.
In the lotus stood a woman with white clothes and black hair.
She had a green lotus mark on her brow, time traces flickering in her eyes, a string of lotus seed Buddha beads on her wrist, and a dazzling Buddha ring behind her. Her aura was vast and formless, so sacred that one could not help but want to kneel and worship.
Just that sacred aura was like a soul attack, intimidating Zhang Ruochen and Xiu Chen Heavenly God.
"Are you Qishier Pin Lian?"
Zhang Ruochen suppressed the thought of turning and fleeing, his body rising into the air, hovering at a level where he could look her in the eye.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God stood with Zhang Ruochen, but her gaze was fixed on the string of lotus seed Buddha beads on the woman's wrist. She demanded, "Where did you get that string of Buddha beads?"
"What is the origin of that string of Buddha beads?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
"That was something Fan Ning owned in life."
Xiu Chen Heavenly God's murderous intent surged to the sky. Ignoring Zhang Ruochen's dissuasion, she struck out directly, sending a large hand seal to suppress Qishier Pin Lian.
The hand seal contained countless rules and immense divine power, like a five-fingered sea of Shura battle qi.
But this great divine ability hand seal had not even reached Qishier Pin Lian before it was worn away by time rules, gradually fading, and finally turning into floating bubbles and shadows.
From beginning to end, the woman in the lotus had not even moved a finger.
It must be known that Xiu Chen Heavenly God prided herself most on her mastery of the Way of Time, yet today, her divine ability was easily broken by time power. It was clear how great the shock she felt inside was.
"This... how is this possible? Who are you? Qishier Pin Lian cannot have such a high level of time mastery! Who are you?"
Xiu Chen Heavenly God's long hair flew like sharp swords in the void, her eyes filled with intense killing intent. "Back in the Kunlun Realm, was it you who killed Fan Ning?"
The woman in the lotus did not answer her, only said faintly, "Your cultivation has recovered to the Great Unbound Infinite middle stage. If I were to drive the Sundial, it would be enough to support the cultivation of the Twenty Heavens. This is very good. Submit to me!"
"No matter how high your cultivation is, if you were the murderer back then, I, this god, will blow up my source pearl today and drag you to die with me!"
Xiu Chen Heavenly God was full of ferocity, directly driving the Sundial and charging into the long river of time.
The Sundial was like a spring, spewing out dozens of white time rivers. At the same time, dense time rules appeared around Xiu Chen Heavenly God.
But with Xiu Chen Heavenly God's cultivation, charging into the long river of time did not stir any ripples. It was as if she was embedded there, motionless. All killing intent and power vanished into nothingness.
This was definitely a scene that would terrify even the Twenty Heavens.
It was time power.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God and the Sundial were trapped by the woman in the lotus within time laws.
This gap in Dao attainment was like that between a god and a child.
The woman in the lotus's gaze fell on Zhang Ruochen. "Actually, I came for you. Subduing the Sundial was just a convenient move. So far, you remain this calm, which surprises me. Truly number one under heaven."
Her voice was beautiful, very pleasant to the ears.
Zhang Ruochen had already activated the Sthavira Silver Tree when Xiu Chen Heavenly God struck, placing it between himself and the long river of time.
But he knew very well that the Sthavira Silver Tree could not block the woman in the lotus, and he also understood that before a powerhouse with such profound time mastery, his chances of escape were negligible.
Zhang Ruochen directly burned his divine blood, his battle intent blazing, his eyes like swords. "May I ask if you are Kong Fanning?"
The woman in the lotus, who had been devoid of emotional fluctuation, finally showed a hint of surprise in her eyes. "Did Xumi tell you?"
Zhang Ruochen had only been testing, but he never expected such a definite answer.
Suppressing the turmoil in his heart, Zhang Ruochen said, "No, I guessed it. To escape the Withering Death Art, one naturally has to seize a body, abandon the old form, and obtain a new one. But the body can be abandoned; what about the soul? How can the soul be discarded?"
The woman in the lotus waited calmly, her gaze deep.
Zhang Ruochen said, "I only want to know, was it you who schemed against Saint Monk back then? Was it you who was the true mastermind behind the near annihilation of the Kunlun Realm's strong and the almost complete destruction of the Zhang Clan?"
"Even if you knew the truth, what could you do? Today, I came precisely to end your lineage."
The woman in the lotus's voice was still so pleasant, devoid of any emotion, as gentle as a spring breeze.
She waved her white sleeve.
A rain of time light flew out from the lotus, easily scattering the Sthavira Silver Tree that could block the Twenty Heavens, surging straight toward Zhang Ruochen.
The seemingly beautiful and dazzling rain of light contained terrifying time power. Once struck by it, even if Zhang Ruochen had a long lifespan, he would likely have it all cut away, turning into dry bones.
"Hua!"
Zhang Ruochen clenched his fists, the Taiji Four Symbols appearing around him, a vast expanse of divine soil condensing beneath his feet. He mobilized the Ancestor Divine Qi and Ancestor Rules in his Xuan Tai and punched out.
Kirin light and lightning waterfalls rushed together toward the rain of time light.
But as soon as these forces touched the rain of time light, they froze, losing all power.
Any cultivator facing such a powerful enemy would inevitably feel despair, only able to close their eyes and wait for death.
But Zhang Ruochen was unwilling to give up. He refused to admit defeat, roaring loudly as he immediately activated various forbidden arts, burning his divine blood, divine soul, and lifespan to maximize his combat power.
Just as the rain of time light was about to fall on Zhang Ruochen, a clear, radiant divine glow emerged from behind him.
Three feet in front of Zhang Ruochen, the rain of time light clashed with the clear divine glow.
There was no earth-shattering explosion. Like morning mist meeting morning glow, it turned into fine raindrops, falling on Zhang Ruochen, making the divine soil beneath him patter.
Zhang Ruochen looked back.
In the distant void, a middle-aged Confucian scholar, as if born from the Dao itself, walked step by step on the clear divine glow.
He had a fair face, no beard, elegant and handsome, but without any hint of frailty. Instead, he exuded a majestic aura that could swallow mountains and rivers, as if countless heroes from ancient and modern times were beneath his feet, and the vast heaven and earth were merely his backdrop.
Zhang Ruochen had seen this man once before at Xuanyuan Lian's porridge stall.
When he turned back, Zhang Ruochen found that Qishier Pin Lian had already disappeared from the long river of time, and the long river of time itself was rapidly fading.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God and the Sundial, frozen on the long river of time, "fell off." She chased in one direction without purpose, filled with hatred and confusion, roaring hoarsely, "Don't go! Answer me, are you really Fan Ning?"